Sale of National Assets Debate

THAT the country is in recession and the economic crisis in which we’ve found ourselves is biting hard is now old news. Yes, we are in recession and Nigerians are presently preoccupied with finding solutions to our economic troubles.

NOW we have started to make some progress with so-called ‘flexible exchange rate’ but still combined with a black list of 41 items ineligible for forex as well as other crude controls, and the consequent huge parallel market premia that is one of the highest in the world. The parallel market exchange rate has now become a very important leading indicator in the economy.

As tempers flare across the country over claims that the federal government is planning to sell of its core assets as a means of bailing the country out of recession, the Federal Government has said that no final decision has been taken on the matter.

IN my previous capacity as the Chairman of the Technical Committee of the National Council on Privatisation up until May 2015, I canvassed for the privatisation of the power sector, sale of NITEL and pushed for the sale of the refineries and the passage of the transport reform bills before time ran out on the last administration.